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SwissMTB: establishing comprehensive molecular cancer diagnostics in Swiss clinics

Singer, Franziska; Irmisch, Anja; Toussaint, Nora C; Grob, Linda; Singer, Jochen; Thurnherr, Thomas; Beerenwinkel, Niko; Levesque, Mitchell P; Dummer, Reinhard; Quagliata, Luca; Rothschild, Sacha I; Wicki, Andreas; Beisel, Christian; Stekhoven, Daniel J (2018). SwissMTB: establishing comprehensive molecular cancer diagnostics in Swiss clinics. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 18:89.

Abstract

Background Molecular precision oncology is an emerging practice to improve cancer therapy by decreasing the risk of choosing treatments that lack efficacy or cause adverse events. However, the challenges of integrating molecular profiling into routine clinical care are manifold. From a computational perspective these include the importance of a short analysis turnaround time, the interpretation of complex drug-gene and gene-gene interactions, and the necessity of standardized high-quality workflows. In addition, difficulties faced when integrating molecular diagnostics into clinical practice are ethical concerns, legal requirements, and limited availability of treatment options beyond standard of care as well as the overall lack of awareness of their existence. Methods To the best of our knowledge, we are the first group in Switzerland that established a workflow for personalized diagnostics based on comprehensive high-throughput sequencing of tumors at the clinic. Our workflow, named SwissMTB (Swiss Molecular Tumor Board), links genetic tumor alterations and gene expression to therapeutic options and clinical trial opportunities. The resulting treatment recommendations are summarized in a clinical report and discussed in a molecular tumor board at the clinic to support therapy decisions. Results Here we present results from an observational pilot study including 22 late-stage cancer patients. In this study we were able to identify actionable variants and corresponding therapies for 19 patients. Half of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. In two patients we identified resistance-associated variants explaining lack of therapy response. For five out of eleven patients analyzed before treatment the SwissMTB diagnostic influenced treatment decision. Conclusions SwissMTB enables the analysis and clinical interpretation of large numbers of potentially actionable molecular targets. Thus, our workflow paves the way towards a more frequent use of comprehensive molecular diagnostics in Swiss hospitals.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > University Hospital Zurich > Dermatology Clinic
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Health Sciences > Health Policy
Health Sciences > Health Informatics
Uncontrolled Keywords:Health Policy, Health Informatics
Language:English
Date:1 December 2018
Deposited On:01 Nov 2018 12:27
Last Modified:19 Oct 2024 01:43
Publisher:BioMed Central
ISSN:1472-6947
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:PubMed ID. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-018-0680-0
PubMed ID:30373609
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  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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